Rukmini Maria Callimachi (born Sichitiu on 25 June 1973) is a Romanian-born American journalist. She currently works for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

Background

Callimachi gained her name "Rukmini" through her family's closeness to the Indian

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian c ...

, founder of Kalakshetra Foundation in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, India. Born Sichitiu, she is the stepdaughter of Mihai Botez, a scientist and dissident against the Romanian communist regime. Rukmini is a matrilineal descendant of the Callimachi family of

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

(and as such also Greco-Romanian); her ancestor on that side is Eufrosina Callimachi, daughter of ''

Hospodar Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning " lord" or " master". Etymology and Slavic usage In the Slavonic language, ''hospodar'' is usually applied to the master/owner of a house or other properties and also the head of a family ...

Scarlat Callimachi Scarlat Callimachi or Calimachi (; nicknamed ''Prinţul Roşu'', "the Red Prince"; September 20, 1896 – June 2, 1975) was a Romanian journalist, essayist, futurist poet, trade unionist, and communist activist, a member of the Callimachi fa ...

. She changed her last name to Callimachi in order to honor this legacy. Rukmini Sichitiu left Romania at age 5, in 1979: her mother and grandmother took her on a trip to Switzerland, during which they defected; Rukmini's father remained in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, to alleviate suspicions, and finally joined them in 1980. According to her own recollections, she had a hard time fitting into Swiss society. Four years later, her parents were separated. While her father stayed in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

, Rukmini and her mother left for Ojai, California, where Rukmini attended primary school. She is a graduate of The Oak Grove School and The Thacher School. She took diplomas from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and from Exeter College of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, where she did a graduate course in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

Career

After publishing some poetry, Callimachi became a freelancer in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

, India, including for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine. In 2003, she joined the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. After a year in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina, in 2006 she began reporting out of

Dakar, Senegal Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...

, as a

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

n correspondent for the

. There she focused on investigating the exploitation of children in West and Central Africa, for which she was named a Pulitzer Finalist in International Reporting in 2009. Callimachi later became known for her work on extremism, and was again named Pulitzer Finalist in 2014 for "her discovery and fearless exploration of internal documents that shattered myths and deepened understanding of the global terrorist network of al-Qaida." In 2014, Callimachi was hired by ''

''. Her reporting focused on

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic un ...

, which helped the ''Times'' earn a Pulitzer Finalist accolade in 2016 as part of a group entry. Callimachi's work in investigative journalism was recognised in 2016, as she won the inaugural International Center for Journalists' Integrity in Journalism Award, for her "exceptional contribution to exposing crimes against humanity". In 2020, Callimachi was reassigned at the ''Times'' and will no longer cover terrorism.

ISIS reporting

''Caliphate''

The serialized audio documentary ''Caliphate'', first released in April 2018, follows Callimachi as she reports on the Islamic State, and the accounts of Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, who claimed to have murdered people while fighting for the Islamic State, and since returned to Canada where he was living freely. The podcast won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

in the radio/podcast category that year. Her work on ''Caliphate'' also made her a Pulitzer Finalist again, " r dissecting the power and persistence of the ISIS terror movement, through relentless on-the-ground and online reporting, and masterful use of podcast storytelling." In May 2018, the reliability of Huzaifa's story had received concerns from television journalist Diana Swain of

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.c ...

, who suggested that he may be "lying" to ''The New York Times''. In September 2020, the Canadian Abu Huzaifa whose real name was Shehroze Chaudhry, was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and charged under Canadian hoax laws for fabricating his story on social media of traveling to Syria and joining ISIS, which was covered by the ''Caliphate'' podcast produced by ''The New York Times''. His case is ongoing. In response to criticism of ''Caliphate''s depiction of Chaudry's story, the ''Times'' announced on September 30 that the paper would begin a "fresh examination" of the series's reporting. In December 2020, ''The New York Times'' admitted that much of the podcast had been based on bad information, that significant errors had been made at the newspaper, and that the Caliphate "podcast as a whole should not have been produced with Mr. Chaudhry as a central narrative character." Callimachi was reassigned as a result. On December 18, 2020, the ''Times'' also announced that, in view of the results of its investigation, it will return the

which had been won by the ''Caliphate'' podcast.

The ISIS Files

Over 15,000 files, now known as "The ISIS Files"—obtained by Callimachi and her "Iraqi colleagues during embeds with the Iraqi army"—were digitize translate analyze and publish d by ''The New York Times'' and

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

in an "exclusive partnership". The two partners announced their intentions to do so in 2018, and by 2020, the files have been online. There has been criticism of how Callimachi acquired the ISIS Files. The documents are alleged to have been removed from Iraq without permission, displaying a "neo-imperial mindset". After digitization, the files were given to the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Awards

* 2018

in News and Radio/Podcast (later returned by the ''New York Times'') * 2016 Aurora Prize for Integrity in Journalism. * 2014 Michael Kelly Award and finalist in 2009 and 2012 * 2012 McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage from the

Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. Established in 1915, Grady College offers undergraduate degrees in journalism, advertising, public re ...

* 2011 Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award from Ball State University for her article, "Haiti-Hotel Montana". * 2009 Pulitzer Prize Finalist "for her in-depth investigation of the exploitation of impoverished children in West and Central Africa" * 2007 Sidney Hillman Foundation Award, "Coverage of Hurricane Katrina aftermath," The Associated Press * 2004 John M. Templeton Religion Story of the Year award, The Daily Herald (Ill.), "Passage from India" * 1998

Keats-Shelley Prize for Poetry The Keats-Shelley Prize was inaugurated in 1998 by the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association. Its purpose is to encourage people of all ages to respond personally to the emotions aroused in them by the work of the Romantics, through rising to the cha ...

Works

News

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Poetry

"The Anatomy of Wildflowers", ''Keats Shelley''

References

External links

*
"RUKMINI CALLIMACHI", ''Free Library''"RUKMINI CALLIMACHI", ''Newsvine''

Interview, Longform Podcast #129''The ISIS Files
These files include 15,000 pages of internal ISIS files obtained Callimachi and her team. {{DEFAULTSORT:Callimachi, Rukmini 1973 births Living people 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American poets American women poets American newspaper journalists American women journalists Associated Press reporters The New York Times writers Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Dartmouth College alumni

Rukmini Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an in ...

Journalists from Bucharest Writers from Bucharest Romanian defectors Romanian emigrants to Switzerland Romanian emigrants to the United States The Thacher School alumni